Christopher Kjell Mykles, better known by his nickname MonteCristo, is an American esports executive and former color commentator, analyst, and organization owner.
Christopher Mykles | |
|---|---|
 Mykles in 2018 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | MonteCristo |
| Title |
|
| Spouse |
Susie Kim (m. 2017) |
| Team history | |
| 2013–2014 | Counter Logic Gaming (coach) |
| 2015–2016 | Renegades (owner) |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Sport | Esports |
| Employer | OnGameNet (2012–2016) Blizzard (2017–2019) |
He rose to prominence whilst working with League of Legends, most notably as an English-language commentator for OnGameNet, broadcaster of the LCK, from 2012 through 2016. He also worked on the broadcast team for the League of Legends World Championship from 2013 to 2015.[1][2] In 2013 and 2014, he was a coach for Counter Logic Gaming, and from 2015 to 2016 he owned Renegades. He was employed as a shoutcaster for the Overwatch League from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, he became the commissioner of Flashpoint, a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league, and a vice president of the league's parent company.
Coaching and ownership
editCounter Logic Gaming
editOn July 24, 2013, Mykles became a coach for Counter Logic Gaming.[3][4] On September 5, 2014, Mykles left his coaching position at CLG.[5]
Renegades
editOn June 22, 2015, Mykles became a co-owner of LA Renegades.[6] On May 8, 2016, Riot Games announced that Team Impulse and Renegades were banned from the LCS. Additionally, Mykles would be banned from all Riot-sponsored activities as a team owner or manager for a year, though he could continue casting for those events.[7][8][9] The punishment stemmed from charges of not properly disclosing team ownership, misleading player trades, and player mistreatment.[10][11] Renegades later sold their LoL team to Team EnVyUs.
Broadcasting
editMykles's first involvement with esports was as a volunteer writer for WCReplays, a Warcraft 3 replays site. He began shoutcasting for WCReplays with David "Phreak" Turley, later attesting that casting came naturally to him due to many years of stage performance. During his involvement with Warcraft 3, he managed a professional team with Verge Gaming and joined the Team Sportscast Network, a now defunct esports shoutcasting organization.[12] He later accepted a full-time contract casting position at OnGameNet as an English-language caster for League of Legends Champions Korea.[13] Mykles, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, and Christopher "PapaSmithy" Smith declined to commentate at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational in Shanghai because of a wage dispute with Riot.[14][15][16]
In April 2017, Mykles and Lonnquist announced they would be moving from South Korea to the United States to serve as shoutcasters for the Overwatch League.[17] After two seasons with the league, Mykles announced that he would no longer be casting for the OWL ahead of the 2020 season.[18]
Flashpoint
editMykles joined B Site, a team-owned producer for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league Flashpoint, and in June 2020, he was named as the league commissioner for Flashpoint and the vice president for brand for B Site.[19]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | onGamers League of Legends Awards | Caster of the Year | Won | [20] |
| 2015 | The Game Awards 2015 | Trending Gamer | Nominated | [21] |
| 2016 | 2016 Esports Awards | Esports Broadcaster of the Year | Nominated | [22] |
| 2018 | 2018 Esports Awards | Esports Broadcaster of the Year | Nominated | [23] |
| Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Esports Caster Duo | Won | [24] | |
| Stockholm International Esports Awards | On Camera Talent of the Year | Nominated | [25] | |
| 2019 | 2019 Esports Awards | Esports Caster of the Year | Nominated | [26] |
Personal life
editOn November 29, 2018, he gained notability on social media after inviting other esports personalities to an event he was hosting titled "Esports Mystery", which was later revealed to be his wedding with Susie "LilSusie" Kim.[27] He later revealed that they had been married since June 2017, but wanted to wait before announcing their marriage to the public.[28]
References
edit- ^ "LoL Esports". www.lolesports.com. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
- ^ "김몬테 "이번 롤챔스 우승은 당연히 SKT T1 K" - 인터뷰/칼럼 - 디스이즈게임". Thisisgame.com. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "'세라프' 신우영, 북미 게임단 CLG 입단". M.esports.dailygame.co.kr. 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ Liebl, Lance (24 July 2013). "MonteCristo becomes coach of CLG League of Legends team". Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Montecristo, Counter Logic Gaming part ways". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Misfits rebrands as Renegades, picks up Vox Eminor CS:GO team, adds MonteCristo as co-owner". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Renegades, TDK banned from all Riot-sanctioned leagues". theScore esports. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Riot bans Renegades, Team Impulse and Team Dragon Knights from sanctioned League of Legends play - The Rift Herald". Riftherald.com. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Jätteskandal i LCS: LOL-profilen stängs av". Esport.aftonbladet.se. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ Prescott, Shaun (26 July 2016). "New details emerge on banned League of Legends team Renegades". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Renegades, Riot and the danger of absolute power". ESPN.com. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Christopher Mykles". eSports Industry Awards 2016. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^ "롤드컵] 김몬테(Montecristo) 롤챔스 해설의 한국팀 사랑 : 헝그리앱 모바일 게임뉴스". M.hungryapp.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "League of Legends casters boycotting Shanghai event over wage dispute with Riot". Polygon. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "MonteCristo, DoA, and PapaSmithy won't cast MSI following payment controversy". The Daily Dot. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ "Why Monte, DoA and PapaSmithy don't need Riot". Espn.go.com. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
- ^ Erzberger, Tyler (April 14, 2017). "MonteCristo, DoA to depart South Korea to cast Blizzard's Overwatch League in U.S." ESPN. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ Wolf, Jacob (December 31, 2019). "Veteran analyst MonteCristo announces departure from Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ Wolf, Jacob (17 June 2020). "MonteCristo named commissioner of Flashpoint and VP of B Site". ESPN.
- ^ Gafford, Travis; Shields, Duncan. "2013 onGamers League of Legends Awards". onGamers. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (November 13, 2015). "Here are the nominees for The Game Awards 2015". Polygon. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Esports Awards Through the Years - 2016". Esports Awards. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Esports Awards Through the Years - 2018". Esports Awards. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 10, 2018). "Overwatch takes home a few accolades at CBS' Gamers' Choice Awards". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Stockholm International Esports Awards". Stockholm International Esports Awards. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018.
- ^ Bhatyal, Rudraaksh (November 17, 2019). "Here are all the winners of Esports Awards 2019". PCQuest. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Donigan, Wyatt (November 30, 2018). "The #EsportsMystery has finally been solved". Dexerto.
- ^ @MonteCristo (9 December 2018). "Yes, around 5 years. We got married in June 2017 but waited to announce until we had the wedding in America. He know owns and creates content for podcast network called Last Free Nation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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